Drug Use Among Athletes: Has It Changed The Game?

Many people believe that drug use in professional athletics is not a serious problem however it is more widespread and serious than people think. In professional athletics the use of drugs is looked upon as somewhat of a serious problem, but is also very discrete and low key. Every once in a while one might see a prominent figure in a certain sport being reprimanded for the use of some outlawed drug, however this is just one of the many who happened to get caught. Athletes today seem to find no moral problem with using performance-enhancing drugs, or in other words cheating. Also many of them feel that because they are "stars" there should be no repercussions for their illegal activity.

Today, drug use in sport has reached enormous proportions in society and is destroying athletics from the ground up. Nowhere is the problem more serious than in professional athletics, where athletes, coaches and trainers misuse drugs in search of ways of ways to improve performance. Many athletes fail to take their time when making the decision whether to use drugs to their advantage. Unfortunately athletes may use drugs for therapeutic indications, recreational or social reasons,

A major frustration for drug enforcement authorities is that many of the steroids come from abroad. U.S. athletes obtain steroids from four main sources, doctors, friends, mail-order firms and the black market. Most of the drugs come form underground laboratories in the U.S. and foreign countries, mainly Mexico. Also, steroids that originate in such labs often contain unknown ingredients. Physicians account for only a very small percent of illicit steroid traffic. A study of steroid users who competed in the 1987 national championships of the U.S. Power lifting Federation found that 73 percent identified the "Black Market" as their drug source. Through investigations conducted since 1985, the Justice Department and the FDA have observed significant changes in the distribution of steroids. At the beginning, people without prior criminal records diverted legally produced steroids of domestic origin to black market channels. Next came smuggling into the U.S. of steroids manufactured abroad; domestic production of counterfeit steroids in underground labs; and finally, the black market in steroids operates in all parts of the country.

If the public perceives major sports to be hopelessly drug-ridden, attendance and television viewer ship is likely to plummet. That could lead to financial ruin for athletes and promoters alike. The monetary stakes are higher today than ever before. Many of the top athletes demand very high salaries, and a select few demand huge additional sums for product endorsement. Pro team owners, meanwhile, are constantly scrambling for more income from broadcasting and other sources to meet their massive payrolls and still turn a profit. A series of drug scandals might well cause media outlets and corporate sponsors to re-evaluate their financial commitment to sports.

Drug use has led to an increased number of deaths and suspensions of athletes. Also, if this continues all athletes someday will have to choose whether to compete at a world-class level and take drugs, or compete at a club level and be clean. In sports, athletes, coaches and trainers will try their best to find a way to reach the top level. They not only search for a way to enhance performance but most of them have aspiring Olympians to train. It is no secret that performance enhancing drugs have been used by Olympians for decades, or that athletes will do almost anything to gain a competitive edge. (Drugs in Sport) According to Dr. Charles E. Yesalis, a professor health and human development at Penn St. University, "drug use among athletes has gone dramatically up in recent years.

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